Toll posting machine



25 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 H. A. FooTHoRAP TOLL POSTING MACHINE April 18,1,933.

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April 18, 1933. H. A. FOOTHQRAP 1,904,862

TOLL POSTING .MACHINE Originl Filed May 14, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April18, 1933. H. A. FooTHoRAP 1,904,862

TOLL POSTING MACHINE I Original Filed May 14, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 3Patented Apr. 18, 1933 `UNITI-:D STATES PATENT OFFICE HARRY A*FOOTHORAP, 0F HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO ELLIOTT- FISHERCOMPANY, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE TOLL POSTINGMACHINE Original application filed May 14, 1925, Serial No. 30,267.Divided and this application led April 9,

1929. Serial No. 353,778.

My invention relates to improvements in toll'posting machines of the latplaten typewriter class.

The object of the invention is to equip a machine of this character withmeans whereby 'successive toll` slips may be `quickly and accuratelyloaded upon the platen and as quickly eJected therefrom and stored instack relation.

To the accomplishment of this general object and others subordinatethereto a preferred embodiment of the invention resides in the structureherein disclosed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The present application is a division of my co-pending applicationSerial No. 30,267, filed May 14,1925, now Patent No. 1,729,771, datedOctober 1, 1929, and to which attention is directed in connection withthe present disclosure.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional View,

partly in elevation, of'a portion of a fiat platen typewriter embodyingmy invention,

Figure 2 is a detail top plan view, Figure 3 is a bottom plan view, andFigure i is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 1 illustrating theoperation of ejecting a toll slip from the machine.

The machine to which my invention is shown as applied is theElliott-Fisher Billing Machine of commerce, which is so well known thatit requires only the briefest explanation. ln this machine the carriage1 upon which the printing mechanism (not shown) is mounted, is movablein either a letter space or a line space direction over a depressiblefiat platen 2 mounted in a rectangular platen frame 3.

The carriage 1 is mounted, by roller bearings 4, for movement in aletter space direction upon a line space frame 5. The line space frame 5is mounted. by means of roller bearings 6, for movement in a line spacedirection upon guides 7 surmounting the side members of the platen frame3.

As will be understood the carriage 1 and line space frame 5 are actuatedby suitable mechanisms for instance as disclosed in my co-pendingapplication supra.. The structure designated 8 is a motor returnmechanism for the line space frame 5 which need merely be noted inpassing.

The platen frame 3 is divided into front and rear sections by atransverse bar 9 surmounted by a work clamp 10. The work clamp 10overlies the rear edge of the flat platen 2 which is mounted within thefront section of the platen frame and provided with the usual rubberfacing. The platen is intended as a support for the work sheet and isdepressible from the Writing plane to the dropped or depressed positionshown in Figure 4.

The front end of the platen is supported by a roller 11 carried by aroller bracket 12 pivoted on the front bar of the platen frame and urgedtoward the platen by a spring 13. This spring urged roller 11 ispreferably mounted at the center of the front edge of the platen asshown in Figure 3. At its rear end the platen 2 is supported from a rockshaft 14 extended across the frame 3 and having a pair of arms 15, thefree ends of which extend between pins 16 carried by brackets 17,depending from the platen and associated 'with a pendant yoke 18,connected as by a chain 19 with a pedal or other platen depressing`device (not shown).

A pair of strong springs 20 are connected to the front bar of the frameand to headed screws 21 which serve both as securing devices for thearms 15 and as points o attachment for the springs 2O to the shaft 14.These springs tend to rock the shaft 14 for the purpose of elevating thearms 15 and the platen 2 connected therewith. The platen is thereforestrongly but yieldingly held in the writing plane with its rear edgeagainst the underside ofthe clamp. The result of this is that any worksheet imposed upon the platen and extended under the clamp will besecurely held at its rear edge.

The present structure, however, is speciiically designed for the postingoi" toll slips T (see Figure 2). u These slips 'are of comparativelysmall size and of comparatively thin material. To facilitate thepositioning of a slip on the platen an angular work guide 22 is. securedto the platen in position to en- LOI gage and accurately locate thefront edge and corners of the slip. It is also desiredy that when theslip has been posted it may be quickly ejected from its printingposition on the platen and received by a storage hopper 23, carried bythe platen frame 3, and held below the same. The transverse frame bar 9is therefore formed with a throat 24 through which the bill may beejected by an ejector 25. The ejector 25 is in the form of a projectionupstanding from an ejecting lever 26, pivoted at 27 to the under side ofthe platen and provided at its opposite end with a handle 28 extendingupwardly through 'a slot 29 in the platen, and bent over to anunobstructive but readily accessible position.

The ejector lever 2 6 is urged rearwardly by a spring 30 after the leverhas been drawn forward and then released by the operator. The ejector25, normally occupies a position in alignment with the rear edge of theguide so that it assists in locating the toll slip. It has been found,however, that the effective ejectment of the slip necessitates therearward movement of the ejector beyond its normal position when snappedback upon its release. To attain this end and the subsequent return ofthe ejector to its proper normal position, a rebound lever 31 isfulcrumed on the under side of the platen with one end urged by a spring32 to oppose its opposite end to the movement of the ejector rearward ofits normal position. Coacting with the lever 31 is a sto 33 whichnormally arrests the lever 31 1n position to accurately locate theejector. The power of the spring 32, while less than that of the spring30, is sufficient, under the normal tensions of these springs, tocounteract the tendency of the spring 30 to move the ejector rearwardlybeyond the position in Which it serves as a guide for the toll sheet.

If, however, the ejector is drawn back by the operator the increasedtension of the spring 30 will retract the ejector with sufficient forceto momentarily overcome the spring 32 when the ejector lever strikes therebound lever, the impact serving to carry the ejector rearwardly a`sulicient distance and at a sufficient speed to cause the toll slip tobe ejected from the platen and through the throat 24'to the hopper. j

The operation of `my invention is as follows:

When the posting ofthe slip has been completed, the platen is depressedagainst the resistance of its elevating springs 20 and the slip will bereleased from the clamp 10.

If now the operator retracts the ejector, itsA release will result inits swift rearward movement to strike the front edge of the toll s lip asharp blow and cause the slip to be. discharged into the hopper 23.While this action is taking place the operator places the next toll slipon the guide 22 on the platen where it is held upon the elevation of theplaten to normal position.

What I claim is:

l. In a `machine of the class described, the combination with a fiatplaten, and printing mechanism thereover, of a. storage receptaclelocated b eyond one edge of the platen, and means for tilting the platentoward the receptacle to facilitate the transfer of a work element fromthe platen to the receptacle.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination With a flatplaten, and a printing mechanism thereover, of a storage receptaclelocated beyond one edge of the platen and below the plane thereof, awork clamp clamping the work to the platen at the edge thereof adjacentto the receptacle, and means for separating the clamp and the platen tofacilitate the transfer of a work element: from' the platen to thereceptacle.

3. In a machine of theclass described, the combination with printingmechanism, of a flat platen tiltable to facilitate the discharge of awork element over one edge thereof, a work clamp cooperating with thedischarge edge of the platen in the untilted position of said platen,and a storage receptacle located beyond the clamp to receive a workelement discharged from said platen.

4. The combination with a platen, of an ejecting lever, an ejectingspring constantly urging said lever in one direction, a rebound leverand spring, respectively, acting against the ejecting lever inopposition to the ejecting spring and co-acting to counterbalance theurge of the ejeeting spring in` an intermediate position of the ejectinglever.

5. The combination with a platen, of an ejectin g lever, a rebounddevice, and an ejecting spring for the lever, operative to move saidlever beyond its normal position in opposition to the rebound device buthaving insufficient power to resist the return of the lever to itsnormal position by the rebound device.

6. The combination with a fiat platen, and travelling printing mechanismthereover, of an ejecting device and a work clamp located at oppositeedges of the printing area of the platen, a storage receptacle intowhich the work element is ejected from the platen, and means for tiltingthe platen to facilitate the ejection of the work.

7. The combination with a tiltable platen, of an ejector and a workclamp located at opposite edges thereof, and a storage receptacle toreceive the work element ejected from the tilted platen after itsrelease from the clamp by the tilting of the platen.

8. The combination with a stationary work clamp, a fiat platen movableto and from the clamp, and a storage receptacle located beyond theclamp, of an ejector operative to eject a work element from the platenand into the storage receptacle.

9. The combination with a depressible flat platen, platen depressingmeans connected to the rear end thereof, an ejector associated with theplaten, a work clamp co-acting with the rear end of the platen, and astorage receptacle in rear of the work clamp.

10. In a machine of the class described, the combination with adepressible flat platen and printing mechanism thereover, of a workclamp cooperating with one edge of the platen, a storage'receptaclelocated beyond the clamp to receive a work element transferred theretofrom the depressed platen, and

means for transferring the work element.

11. The combination with a Hat platen and travelling printing mechanism,of an eject-l ing device and a work clamp located at opposite sides ofthe printing area of the platen respectively, and a storage receptaclelocated beyond the work clamp to receive a work element ejected past theclamp from the platen.

12. In a flat platen typewriter, the combination with a platendepressible from the writing plane, of a work clamp coacting with theplaten at one side of the writing area thereof, an ejector located atthe opposite side of the writing area of the platen, and a storagereceptacle located beyond the work clamp to receive a work sheet ejectedbeyond the work clamp from the depressed platen.

13. In a ilat platen typewriter, the combination with a platen framehaving a transverse bar formed with. an open throat, of a flat platenand a storage receptacle located at opposite sides of the bar, a workclamp carried by the bar and coacting with the` platen, and an ejectorassociated with the platen to eject the work elementy therefrom.

14. In a fiatplaten typewriter the combination with travelling printingmechanism, of a platen element, a clamping element extended across andcooperating with the rear edge of the platen element, one of saidelements being movable to effect its separation from the other elementand permit a work sheet to be ejected under the clamp from the platen,and a storage receptacle located beyond the clamp.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

HARRY A. FOOTHORAP.

